UB compiles sustainability ‘blueprint’

“This commitment informs every aspect of our mission as a public research university, from our innovative research and to our curriculum educational programs, our operations and built environment, and our engagement with our broader communities.”

Satish K. Tripathi, President

University at Buffalo

Sustainability efforts at UB go beyond the obvious, like
building solar power plants and composting food scraps. Professors
teach about air quality, students lead recycling programs and
employees carpool.

Yet, that only scratches the surface of UB’s commitment to
sustainability, says Ian Bick, a junior majoring in environmental
engineering.

He would know.

Bick is among eight undergraduates, a dozen UB faculty members
from nearly every school and more than 100 staff members who spent
countless hours helping the university’s Office of
Sustainability compile an exhaustive, 212-page report that examines
how UB:

Finds solutions to global sustainability challenges through its
research

Educates individuals about these challenges through its
curriculum and community engagement

Promotes healthier, more eco-friendly living on campus and
beyond.

Essentially a blueprint of UB’s accomplishments and future
goals, the report was certified “Silver” by the
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher
Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating
System (STARS). The designation is perhaps the clearest indication
yet that UB is at the forefront of sustainability among North
American colleges and universities.

“With a longstanding history of environmental leadership
that extends over several decades, the University at Buffalo is
committed to creating a better, more sustainable future for all of
the communities we serve, locally as well as globally,” says
President Satish Tripathi. “This commitment informs every
aspect of our mission as a public research university, from our
innovative research and to our curriculum educational programs, our
operations and built environment, and our engagement with our
broader communities.”

UB's STARS submission is the first document to track every
sustainability initiative under way at UB and how those initiatives
affect the outside world. That includes simple acts like allowing
natural vegetation to grow at designated areas on campus, to more
complex matters such as filtering
nuclear waste from groundwater at the West Valley Demonstration
Project, about 30 miles south of Buffalo.

UB’s wide range of educational programs, faculty research
and bricks and mortar, such as John and Editha Kapoor Hall, the
new, eco-friendly home of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences on the South Campus supported by the NYSUNY 2020 bill
signed into law last year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, exemplifies its
comprehensive commitment to sustainability, says Dennis Black, vice
president for university life and services.

“This report shows how UB, as a major public research
university, leverages the knowledge of its researchers not only to
educate students, but to solve challenges both on campus and
off,” Black says. “It also illustrates how university
partnerships with government, industry, nonprofits and others can
improve life in Western New York and beyond.”

The report
was compiled at the urging of UB’s Environmental Stewardship
Committee, a group chaired by School of Architecture and Planning
Dean Robert Shibley. UB’s score was 55.69, which placed it
above average (48.34) among the top 238 colleges and universities
committed to sustainability in the U.S., Canada and Mexico
participating in the voluntary and self-regulating program.

UB received high marks in planning, administration and community
engagement. This is exemplified by the Solar Strand, a 750-kilowatt
photovoltaic array that produces enough power for hundreds of
student apartments. UB worked with numerous public agencies and
more than 40 local contractors to build the array, which is thought
to be the most publicly accessible solar power plant in the
nation.

“Whether it’s building state-of-the-art student
housing with recycled materials or reducing paperwork for student
applications, UB’s sustainability plans work to meet
today’s needs without sacrificing the needs of future
generations,” says Ryan McPherson, UB’s chief
sustainability officer. “We’re educating students and
having a positive impact on Western New York communities and
elsewhere. The STARS report shows that UB is a leader promoting
sustainability, but also that much work can still be
done.”

The report highlights UB’s educational programs, which
include plans to open a sustainability academy in 2013, in which
undergraduates interested in sustainability issues live and learn
together. It also notes that UB has 336 sustainability-related, or
sustainability-focused, courses taught by 118 faculty members
engaged in sustainability research.

Among the students under their tutelage are Bick and fellow
environmental engineering major Nicole Damico, who helped gather
data for the report last spring. The students interviewed dozens of
faculty and staff members, and gathered information that was folded
into the report by Jim Simon, UB sustainability engagement
coordinator.

“I knew about some of UB’s sustainability
initiatives, like the Solar Strand and composting, but working on
the report really opened my eyes to everything that UB is
doing,” Damico says. “UB isn’t just reducing its
carbon footprint; it’s educating people about sustainability
and helping solve problems.”

The report also mentions UB’s operations and buildings,
which include William R. Greiner Hall, the first public university
residence hall in New York to be certified gold under the U.S.
Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. UB has or soon will open
five LEED-designed buildings: Barbara and Jack Davis Hall and the
Crossroads Culinary Center, both on the North Campus; the
Educational Opportunity Center and Clinical and Translational
Research Center, both at the Downtown campus; and Kapoor Hall on
the South Campus.

The university’s leadership role in environmental issues
dates back to the 1970s when UB researchers helped investigate the
Love Canal disaster and administrators established Rachel Carson
College. UB continued its focus on the environment during the next
two decades by conducting energy audits of its buildings to reduce
energy use and promoting a broad array of conservation efforts.

UB went further in 2007 when it was among the first 150
institutions of higher learning to sign the American College and
University Presidents Climate Commitment and agree to become
climate neutral by 2030. Click
here (621 KB) to view UB’s Climate Action Plan.